Title

Creator

R[obert] U[nderwood] Johnson

Recipient

John Muir

Preview

Transcription

July 9, 1897R. W. GILDER, EDITOR. R. U. JOHNSON. ASSOCIATE EDITOR. C. C. BUEL, ASSISTANT EDITOR. My dear Muir:- The dog story is at hand and we are correspondingly happy. I have just sent the copy to the printer, under the title"An Adventure with a Dog and a Glacier," and I have done the story a service by cutting out some of the preliminary material, which retarded the narrative and to some extent gave away the point. Your digressions about dog life in general, and your elaborate descriptions of "Stickeen" take from the surprise with which the reader discovers his fine qualities. When you told this storyyou simply said that this was a dog to whom you had paid very little attention before; but when in the manuscript you describe him at considerable length the reader is less prepared for the legitimate effect of his wonderful feat. On this principle I have left out the references to the previous crossings of the ice slivers, and treated it as if it were the climax of the adventure. The element of surprise is of the very essence of the success of the story. Remember that this is my story as well as yours. I have heard it several times, and I know how it is most effective. Of course, I have not dared to add a line, but have only left out what seems to me extraneous matter. For instance, though interesting and valuable in itself, the description in extenso of what you saw on the glacier has nothing to do with the story, except Just02314

Location

New York

Date Original

1897-07-09T00:00:00

Source

Original letter dimensions: 27 x 21 cm.

Resource Identifier

muir09_0970-let.tif

File Identifier

Reel 09, Image 0970

Copyright Status

Copyright status unknown

Copyright Statement

Some letters written to John Muir may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Owning Institution

University of the Pacific Library Holt-Atherton Special Collections. Please contact this institution directly to obtain copies of the images or permission to publish or use them beyond educational purposes.